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The 

Goal  Mining  Industry 

of  the 

Far  Eastern  Republic 


Published  by 

The  Special  Delegation  of  the  Far   Eastern   Republic 
to  the  United  States   of  America 

Washington,  D.  C. 
1922 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/coalminingindustOOdalnrich 


The 

Coal  Mining  Industry 

of  the 

Far  Eastern  Republic 


Published   by 

The  Special  Delegation  of  the  Far  Eastern  Republic 
to  the  United  States  of  America 

Washington,  D.  C. 
1922 


S  67/13 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Chapter  Page 

I.  The  Coal  Mining  Industry  of  the  Zabaikal  and  Pribaikal 

Provinces  5 

II.  Mineral  Coal  Deposits  in  the  Amur  Province 15 

A — Brown  Coal  Deposits 15 

B — Hard  Coal  Deposits 16 

III.  The  Coal  Industry  in  the  Maritime  Province. 17 

IV.  Coal  Mining  Industry  on  Russian  Saghalin 22 

APPENDIX  I.  Soft  Coal  Deposits  of  the  Zabaikal  Province  28 

APPENDIX  II.  Summaries  of  Mineral  Coal 32 


r 


I. 

THE  COAL   MINING   INDUSTRY  OF  THE  ZAIBAIKAL  AND 
PRIBAIKAL  PROVINCES 

In  Zabaikal  and  Pribaikal  there  are  available  deposits  of 
brown  coal  only;  real  hard  coal  has  not  been  discovered  there 
as  yet. 

Brown  coal  is  very  widely  spread  over  the  territory  of  this 
region;  there  are  deposits  of  it  at  Lake  Baikal  and  further  east 
in  the  valleys  of  the  rivers  Khilok,  Chikoy  and  Uda,  and  fur- 
ther, beyond  the  Yablonov  mountain  ridge,  along;  the  valleys 
of  the  rivers  Ingoda  and  Shilka,  and  further,  towards  the  bor- 
ders of  Manchuria,  in  the  steppes  of  Dauria. 

All  the  deposits  of  brown  coal  which  are  considered  as  lake 
deposits  have  the  character  of  separate  basin-shaped  coal-beds, 
which  do  not  he  at  great  depths,  which  facilitates  their  extrac- 
tion by  rendering  possible,  in  many  of  these  deposits,  the  so- 
called  open  work,  i.e.,  it  renders  possible  a  complete  removal  of 
all  the  layers  covering  the  coal,  and  afterwards  a  complete  re- 
moval of  the  entire  thickness  without  using  any  special  supports 
for  this  purpose. 

The  deposits  along  the  rivers  Chikoy  and  Uda,  being  remote 
from  the  railroad,  are  at  present  of  no  importance  industrially, 
and  are  therefore  completely  unexplored.  The  presence  of  these 
is  known  because  of  the  numerous  outcrops  of  deposits  of 
brown  coal  in  the  valleys  of  the  aforementioned  rivers. 

For  this  reason  the  present  description  is  concerned  only 
with  the  deposits  situated  near  the  railroads,  which  are  well 
explored  and  are  now  either  being  or  have  recently  been  ex- 
ploited. 

Demand  for  Coal 

A  demand  for  coal  in  these  provinces  appeared  in  the  be- 

5 


ginning  of  the  nineties,  immediately  after  the  construction  of  the 
Transbaikal  Railroad. 

At  first  the  railroad  was  practically  the  only  consumer  of  the 
local  coal  as  at  that  time  there  were  practically  no  other  branch- 
es of  industry  except  the  production  of  gold  and  the  extraction 
and  working  of  certain  ores;  and  those  in  operation  were  using 
wood  as  fuel.  But  as  the  population  of  the  country  increased  and, 
che  cities  grew  larger,  there  arose  a  great  need  for  coal  for  the 
use  of  the  municipal  establishments  (elecrtic  light  for  the  rail- 
road stations,  waterworks,  etc.),  as  well  as  for  private  estab- 
lishments, steam  flour-mills,  leather  and  cement  works,  match 
factories,  etc.,  whose  development  was  greatly  stimulated  after 
the  construction  of  the  Transbaikal  railroad. 

As  the  main  purpose  of  the  brown  coal  mines  was  to  supply 
the  Transbaikal  railroad  with  coal  they  were  established  ex- 
clusively near  the  railroad  and  at  approximately  equal  intervals, 
their  aim  being  to  supply  definite  sections  of  the  railroad,  thus 
rendering  superfluous  the  transport  of  the  coal  over  long  dis- 
tances. 

The  Main  Coal  Establishments 

Thus  were  originated  the  mines  in  the  western  district: 

The  mines  of  Tarbagatai  (at  the  37th  siding  of  the  Trans- 
baikal Railroad,  634  versts  (1  verst  2-3  miles)  from  Irkutsk; 
the  mines  of  Khaliartin  (12  versts  from  Tolbaga  Station  and  17 
versts  from  the  Tarbagatai  mines).  On  the  middle  section  of 
the  Transbaikal  railroad  there  are  the  Chernosk  mines — at  a 
distance  of  20  versts  west  of  Chita,  and  964  versts  from  Irkutsk. 
The  eastern  sections  of  the  Transbaikal  railroad:  the  mines  of 
Kholbon  and,  side  by  side  with  them,  the  Arbagar  mines — at  a 
distance  of  18  versts  to  the  southwest  of  the  city  of  Nerchinsk, 
and  250  versts  from  the  city  of  Chita,  on  the  Sretensk  branch 
line,  and  the  Kharanorsk  mines  at  a  distance  of  280  versts  from 
Chita  on  the  main  line  of  the  Transbaikal  railroad,  towards 
Manchuria — at  a  distance  of  18  versts  to  the  west  of  the  station 
of  Borzia. 

Working  principally  for  the  railway,  the  coal  companies 
may  be  said  to  have  been  maintained  exclusively  by  the  Trans- 
baikal Railway  and  to  a  great  extent  to  have  depended  upon  it. 
The  size  of  the  orders  from  the  Transbaikal  Railway,  in  fact, 


became  the  deciding  factor  for  a  coal  mine,  and  those  among 
them  that  could  not  supply  coal  of  the  same  quality  as  other 
neighboring  companies,  or  at  the  lowest  prices,  could  not  exist 
and  had  to  discontinue  operation;  in  this  way,  the  Kharliartin 
coal  mines,  which  opened  in  1912,  were  closed  two  years  later; 
on  account  of  the  hauling  distance  (8  versts  to  siding  No.  39, 
and  12  versts  to  the  station  of  Tolbaga),  they  were  unable  to 
compete  with  the  Tarbagatai  coal,  in  spite  of  the  favorable  con- 
ditions for  the  production  of  Khaliartin  coal. 

The  following  table  shows  the  analysis  of  the  coal  produced 
by  the  above  mentioned  companies: 


<L> 

a 

CO 

"o 

to 

< 

M 

ft 

m 

1 

0 

Organic 
Subst. 

Heating 
Value 

o  c 

if 

a 

> 

c 
o 

/— N      1 

•      W 

+->    <U 
u    %. 

o  o 

CU 

> 

< 

Tarbagatai 
mines 

19.10 

5.50 

1.31 

40.90 

33.00 

41.00 

5530 

5140 

Does  not  slag, 
does  not 
clinker. 

Khaliartinsk 

18.50 

5.61 

1.04 

51.88 

31.62 

44.27 

5165 

4770 

Small  coal 
does  not 
clinker. 

Kharanorsk 
Kholbonsk 

27.40 
28.00 
13.75 

3.40 
4.50 
3.46 

0.32 
0.36 
0.54 

38.90 
39.90 
48.01 

38.50 
32.80 
38.29 

35.00 
34.70 

44.55 

4330 
4000 
5315 

3890 
3570 
4915 

Does  not  slag, 
does  not 
clinker. 

Arbagarsk 

14.56 

5.22 

0.55 

52.48 

33.98 

47-38 

47<50 

4330 

Chernovsk  \ 

Kalacheevsk 
Zamiatin 
Sobeshchansky 
Sibirsky 

24.50 
18.00 
19.10 
11.50 

3.90 

3.61 

10.01 

9.40 

0.42 
0.60 
0.39 
0.42 

45.70 
48.47 
50.46 
54.17 

29.80 
32.61 
30.40 
34.46 

41.80 
44.90 
40.45 
44.67 

5031 
5200 
4570 
4565 

4602 
4795 
4150 
4120 

Does  not 
clinker,     does 
not  slag,  gives 
many    sparks. 

The  Tarbagatai  coal  is  the  best  in  Transbaikal,  and  the 
Kharonosk  the  worst. 

As  regards  the  characteristics  of  each  of  the  above  men- 
tioned coal  deposits  and  their  possibilities  for  the  future,  the 
following  may  be  said: 

The  TABAGATAI  DEPOSITS,  situated  near  siding  37  of  the 
Transbaikal  railway,  have  been  worked  since  the  beginning  of 
the  nineties.  This  deposit  forms  a  large  basin  situated  in  the 
valley  of  the  river  Khilka.  In  the  direction  the  valley  running 
from  west  to  east,  exploration  work  has  been  carried  on  for 
2  versts  (the  greater  axis  of  the  basin).    The  depth  of  the  coal 


deposit  in  the  extreme  eastern  part  of  the  explored  section 
is  315  feet,  which  indicates  a  continuation  of  the  basin  to 
the  eastward,  but  its  end  has  not  been  followed  up;  by  previous 
exploitation  and  investigation  the  width  of  the  basin  has  been 
found  to  reach  2  versts.  In  the  explored  part  of  the  Tarbakatai 
coal  deposit  there  is  a  layer  of  brown  coal  35  feet  deep;  this 
coal  is  of  the  best  quality  in  Transbaikal. 

The  reserve  of  coal  in  this  part  of  the  basin  is  three  billion 
poods  (1  pood— 36.11  lbs.). 

Since  the  opening  of  this  mine  about  120  millions  of  poods 
of  coal  have  been  produced;  since  1914  the  work  was  carried 
on  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river  Khilka  through  a  surface  cut 
over  a  distance  of  one  verst  and  to  a  depth  of  about  84  feet. 

Owing  to  the  worn  out  condition  of  the  steam  boilers  at  the 
electric  station  which  supplied  the  power  for  the  big  water 
pumps  (200,000  buckets  per  hour)  and  the  absence  of  spare 
boilers  to  run  while  the  old  ones  might  have  been  repaired,  the 
cut  could  not  be  deepened,  and  it  was  flooded  at  the  end  of 
June,  1919. 

Prior  to  the  revolution,  12  to  15  million  poods  of  coal  were 
mined  from  this  cut  annually,  but  subsequently,  owing  to  the 
difficulty  of  deepening,  and  the  inadequate  power  of  the  steam 
boilers  for  pumping,  production  fell  to  3-4  millions  of  poods  an- 
nually. * 

After  the  flooding  of  the  cut,  the  company  began  to  work 
a  new  section,  also  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Khilka,  by  surface 
mining,  but  owing  to  the  high  cost  of  materials,  insufficient  pre- 
liminary work,  low  productivity  of  the  workers,  and  the  general 
political  situation,  it  was  not  possible  to  develop  intensive  ac- 
tivity, and  production  fell  to  150-200  thousand  poods  monthly. 

Among  the  disadvantages  of  this  deposit  should  be  men- 
tioned the  considerable  influx  of  water  due  to  the  location  of 
the  deposit  in  the  valley  of  the  river  Khilka.  For  rapid  pumping 
an  electric  power-house  was  installed,  with  two  turbo-gener- 
ators of  600  and  300  kilowatts  per  hour. 

In  the  beginning  mining  was  done  underground  and  about 
50  million  poods  of  coal  were  produced  in  this  way.  But  work 
was  suspended  in  1912  after  a  fire  and  has  not  been  resumed. 

It  should  be  noted  that  the  most  rational  method  of  work- 
ing the  Tarbagatai  mines  is  underground,  with  wet  timbering; 

8 


there  are  all  conditions  to  favor  this  method :  absence  of  frozen 
ground  and  predominance  of  sand  in  the  Khilka  river  valley. 

The  market  price  for  coal  prior  to  the  war  was  12  kopeks 
per  pood;  in  general,  the  price  of  Tarbagatai  coal  exceeded  the 
price  of  Chernovsk  coal  by  10  to  15  per  cent. 

All  the  conditions  favor  the  reopening  of  these  mines.  We 
shall  here  enumerate  the  following: 

1.  The  excellent  quality  of  Tarbagatai  coal,  justly  con- 
sidered the  best  in  Transbaikalia. 

2.  The  extent  of  the  coal  deposit,  which  can  supply  the 
local  coal  market  for  many  decades. 

3.  The  big  demand  for  Tarbagatai  coal  by  the  Trans- 
baikal  railway,  as  well  as  by  industrial  concerns  in  Verkhneu- 
dinsk,  where  the  conditions  are  particularly  favorable  for  the 
development  of  all  forms  of  industry,  by  reason  of:  a)  two 
navigable  rivers;  b)  railways;  c)  large  timber  lands;  d)  proximity 
of  grain  belt;  e)  direct  transit  route  via  Urga  with  Mongolia,  the 
great  supplier  of  cattle  and  wool,  and  a  tremendous  consuming 
market  for  all  kinds  of  manufactured  goods. 

KHALIARTINSK  DEPOSIT,  situated  17  versts  to  the  east 
of  Tarbagatai  contains  a  coal  vein  of  an  average  depth  of  15.4 
feet.  This  layers  lies  almost  horizontally  above  the  valley  of 
the  river  Tolbaga,  over  its  right  bank. 

The  absence  of  water,  the  high  quality  of  the  coal  (next 
to  Tarbagatai  coal),  and  the  favorable  situation  of  the  deposit, 
which  crops  out  in  the  dip  of  the  valley  of  the  river  Tolbaga, 
make  it  possible  to  work  it  by  galleries  in  the  outcrop  of  the 
seam,  without  building  expensive  shafts;  for  this  reason  this 
deposit  should  be  considered  particularly  suitable  for  exploita- 
tion; its  remoteness  from  the  railway,  however,  necessitates  the 
building  of  a  railway  branch  of  about  12  versts  long  to  the  sta- 
tion of  Tolbaga,  with  a  bridge  across  the  river  Khilka. 

The  cessation  of  work  in  the  Tarbagata  mines  prompts  the 
Government  of  the  Far  Eastern  Republic  to  take  urgent  meas- 
ures in  order  to  start  work  on  the  Khaliartinsk  mines  as  soon 
as  possible  and  to  build  the  railway  branch-line  and  the  bridge. 
These  latter  constructions  have  already  been  started,  and  some 
of  the  property  of  the  Tarbagatai  mines  for  the  fitting  out  of 
the  mines  was  made  use  of. 

The  Khaliartinsk  deposit  has  not  been  explored  very  thor- 

9 


oughly.  An  investigation  made  in  1920  of  a  part  of  the  deposit 
estimated  the  apparent  amount  of  coal  at  82  million  poods;  the 
investigations  were  continued  in  1921  and  there  is  reason  to 
infer  that  the  Khaliartinsk  deposit  is  of  great  extent,  as  coal 
is  found  with  but  slight  digging  at  a  distance  of  2  versts  from 
the  Khaliartinsk  mines. 

As  soon  as  the  railway  spur  is  built,  and  with  the  facilities 
at  hand,  it  will  be  possible  at  the  present  time  to  produce  at 
the  mine  500,000  poods  of  coal  per  month;  in  the  near  future 
the  monthly  output  may  be  increased  to  one  million  poods. 

The  CHERNOVSK  DEPOSIT  is  situated  18  versts  to  the  west 
of  Chita  and  3  versts  from  the  Chernovsk  siding  of  the  Trans- 
baikal  railway,  with  which  it  is  connected  by  a  railway  line. 

The  Chernovsk  deposit  is  in  the  form  of  a  basin  slightly 
over  four  square  versts  in  extent.  The  seam  of  coal  is  almost 
horizontal  with  a  slight  elevation,  not  over  5  degrees  at  the 
outcrops.  The  working  seam  is  about  24%  to  28  feet  thick, 
while  the  covering  layers  (of  peat)  are  from  21  to  77  feet  thick. 
Besides  the  working  seam,  there  is  another  seam  fourteen  feet 
below,  the  latter  not  being  worked  at  present. 

The  amount  of  coal  in  the  upper  seam  alone  is  more  than 
one  and  a  half  billion  poods. 

The  quality  of  the  Chernovsk  coal  is  fourth,  after  the  Tar- 
bagatai,  Khaliartinsk  and  Arbagarsk  -mines ;  in  the  open  air  the 
coal  crumbles  when  exposed  to  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun. 
Stacked  up  in  a  dump  it  demains  in  good  condition  for  a  long 
time.    The  coal  is  not  at  all  self-inflammable. 

The  particular  favorable  features  of  the  Chernovsk  deposit 
are  the  following: 

1.  The  even  lay  of  the  seam,  almost  horizontal,  along  the 
entire  distance. 

2.  Entire  absence  of  ground  water. 

3.  Easy  penetration  of  the  covering  layers  (sandy  clay)  by 
means  of  spades  and  mechanical  devices  (excavators). 

4.  Easy  production  of  the  frozen  coal  by  means  of  dyna- 
mite, so  that  during  an  eight-hour  shift  one  hard  rock  miner 
can  handle  400  poods  of  coal. 

The  unfavorable  features  of  this  deposit  is  the  permanent 
freezing  of  the  layers  covering  the  coal  seam,  which  necessitates 
thawing  of  the  ground  before  work  can  be  commenced.    There- 

10 


fore,  the  work  here  is  only  seasonal,  and  during  the  summer; 
also,  in  view  of  the  slow  process  of  thawing  a  large  working 
front  has  to  be  made  for  the  production  both  by  means  of  mus- 
cular power  (worker  and  horse)  and  with  the  aid  of  mechanical 
appliances  (excavators). 

The  coal  is  produced  by  surface  work. 

The  production  of  coal  on  the  Chernovsk  mines  is  the  high- 
est in  all  Transbaikalia,  reaching  20,000,000  poods  annually; 
with  the  introduction  of  certain  improvements  in  mining  equip- 
ment, particularly  in  uncovering  the  overlaying  layers  and  by 
providing  living  quarters  for  the  workers,  the  production  could 
be  doubled  in  the  near  future. 

One  earth-remover,  with  one  horse  and  a  driver,  can  re- 
move in  the  summer  4,116  cubic  feet,  and  in  the  winter  205.8 
cubic  feet. 

The  two  excavators  with  multiple  scoops  now  working  on 
the  mines  can  cover — one,  85,750  cubic  feet,  and  the  other 
41,160  cubic  feet  per  working  day. 

The  productive  working  day  of  an  exacavator  is  not  more 
than  10  hours,  as  the  thawing  of  the  ground  is  a  slow  process, 
not  exceeding  0.7  feet  per  day.  The  present  surface  avail- 
able for  the  work  of  the  excavator,  about  one  verst,  is  in- 
sufficient for  productive  work  and  should  be  extended;  this  can 
easily  be  accomplished.  The  excavators  work  in  two  layers- - 
the  smaller  with  a  21  foot  depth  of  scroop,  the  larger  with  a 
28  foot  depth;  the  thickness  of  the  layers  in  which  the  ex- 
cavators are  working  at  present  is  56-63  feet;  the  cleaning 
up  of  the  remaining  earth  is  done  by  hand,  by  earth-removers. 
In  parts  of  the  mines  the  opening  up  is  done  only  by  hand  labor. 

The  coal  produced  is  transported  through  the  cut  to  ele- 
vators in  small  iron  trucks  on  rails  and  is  then  loaded  by  means 
of  an  escalator  direct  into  railway  cars. 

In  this  way,  the  successful  production  and  transportation 
of  the  coal  depends  to  a  great  extent  on  the  proper  supply  of 
cars  by  the  railway  for  the  loading  of  the  coal. 

Up  to  1919  the  working  companies  succeeded  by  the  end 
of  summer  in  extracting  the  whole  amount  of  coal  that  had 
been  calculated  as  the  annual  output,  viz:  about  20  million 
poods;  in  the  last  two  years,  however,  owing  to  the  general 
political  situation  and  financial  and  economic  difficulties  it  was 

11 


very  hard  to  obtain  earth-removers,  who  are  really  small  con- 
tractors, and  not  mine  workers.  For  this  reason  during  the  last 
two  years  the  ground  was  opened  up  also  during  winter  by 
means  of  so-called  "fires",  to  thaw  up  the  ground,  some  of  the 
coal  produced  being  used  for  this  purpose.  Firing  of  7  inches 
thick  thaws  up  ground  to  a  depth  of  42  inches. 

Owing  to  the  scanty  preparatory  work  that  was  done  in  the 
summer  period  of  1919,  and  particularly  in  1920,  the  supply 
of  opened-up  coal  became  considerably  smaller  and  by  the  end 
of  1920  it  was  only  5  million  poods  instead  of  the  usual  20 
million. 

Up  to  1919,  the  Siberian  Company  which  was  working  a 
part  of  the  Chernovsk  mines  exploited  a  coal  seam  8.4  feet 
thick,  by  underground  working  (the  Kalacheevsk  mine) ;  this 
seam  lies  in  an  elevation,  about  one  verst  from  the  Chernovsk 
siding.  Owing  to  a  considerable  flow  of  water  and  the  high 
cost  of  production,  as  compared  with  the  open  workings  on 
the  Chernovsk  deposit,  this  seam  was  abandoned  and  is  at  pres- 
ent flooded. 

The  ARBAGARSK  DEPOSIT  is  situated  7  versts  from  the 
Kholbon  siding  of  the  Sretensk  branch  of  the  Transbaikal  rail- 
way and  18  versts  from  the  city  of  Nerchinsk.  This  deposit  has 
two  working  seams,  8.4  and  4.2  feet  thick,  basin  shaped  with  a 
drop  of  the  layer  10-15  degrees  in  the  section  of  the  mould  now 
being  worked. 

The  quality  of  this  coal  is  higher  than  that  of  the  Cher- 
novsk, but  inferior  to  the  Khaliartinsk. 

At  the  Kholbon  siding  there  is  another  coal  deposit,  which 
is  undoubtedly  a  continuation  of  the  Arbagarsk.  Work  was 
done  here  up  to  1911,  but  the  proximity  of  the  Shilka  and  the 
big  flow  of  water  forced  the  abandonment  of  work  here  and  a 
concentration  on  the  Arbagarsk  deposit. 

The  coal  is  brought  up  through  a  vertical  shaft  126  feet 
deep  and  a  horizontal  driftway  2450  feet  long. 

The  amount  of  coal  explored  is  200  million  poods ;  3  million 
poods  are  ready  for  production  at  the  present  time. 

The  monthly  production  is  about  250,000  poods. 

More  intensive  production  is  prevented  by  the  incon- 
venience of  having  to  deliver  the  coal  to  the  Kholbon  siding 
by  horse  power  on  a  narrow  gauge  line.    Shortage  of  feed  for 

12 


the  horses,  and  the  difficulty  of  winter  transportation  in  general, 
which  is  discontinued  during  snowstorms,  and  in  summer  dur- 
ing the  rains,  make  it  impossible  to  deliver  to  Kholbon  all  the 
coal  produced;  delivery  by  horse  power  is  therefore  beginning 
io  be  replaced  by  steam  power,  and  in  the  beginning  of  spring 
of  this  year  the  construction  of  a  wide-gauge  railway  line  will 
be  commenced,  with  a  view  to  increasing  production  and  trans- 
portation of  coal  without  reloading. 

With  the  present  facilities  of  the  Arbagarsk  mines,  after 
the  wide-gauge  line  is  laid,  it  will  be  possible  immediately  to  in- 
crease production  to  400-500  thousand  poods  per  month. 

The  KHARANORSK  DEPOSIT  is  situated  two  miles  to  the 
west  of  siding  79  of  the  Transbaikal  railway.  It  contains  a  coal 
seam  56  feet  thick,  extending  over  an  area  of  2  square  versts. 
The  reserve  of  coal  is  over  one  billion  poods. 

The  coal  is  not  of  high  quality  and  will  not  stand  exposure 
to  the  open  air,  but  can  be  briqueted.  This  latter  property  must 
not  be  overlooked  in  view  of  that  fact  that  in  the  faces  of  the 
drift  there  remains  about  20%  of  unutilized  small  coal,  and  if 
the  Kharanorsk  coal  is  briqueted,  its  main  defect — crumbling 
in  the  open  air — will  be  done  away  with. 

The  seam  lies  horizontally,  somewhat  undulating;  the  thick- 
ness of  overlaying  strata  is  28  to  84  feet.  Hitherto  work  has 
been  done  underground,  but  more  recently  the  first  steps  were 
taken  to  work  the  deposit  in  the  open. 

Work  is  done  through  two  shafts;  about  400,000  poods  is 
produced  per  month. 

If  open  work  is  introduced,  the  mines  will  produce  within 
a  year  not  less  than  a  million  poods  of  coal  per  month. 

Next  to  the  seam  now  being  worked,  nearer  to  siding  79, 
there  is  another  seam,  35  feet  thick,  not  deeply  imbedded. 
This  seam  is  interspersed  with  numerous  deposits  of  coal  in 
frozen  ground,  which  makes  this  coal  unsuitable  for  heating 
boilers;  in  time,  when  the  Kharanorsk  coal  is  briquetted,  there 
is  no  doubt  that  also  this  part  of  the  deposit,  extending  over  an 
area  of  over  four  square  versts,  with  billions  of  tons  of  coal, 
will  become  industrially  valuable.  At  the  present  time  it  has  no 
industrial  value. 

» 


SUMMARY    OF    ANNUAL    PRODUCTION     OF    COAL,    THE 

NUMBER   OF  WORKERS  AND   AMOUNT  OF  COAL   READY 

FOR  SALE  IN  TRANSBAIKAL  MINES 


Average 

Supplies  on 

Name   of    Mine 

Year 

in  poods 

number 
of  workers 

of    years 
(in    poods) 

Chernovsk   Mines : 

Zamiatin  Bros. 

1916 

11,006,068 

338 

30,000,000 

1917 

12,641,423 

360 

26,000,000 

1918 

8,496,560 

474 

1919 

9,041,612 

656 

1920 

5,480,000 

575 

Sobeschansky 

1916 

2,910,873 

1917 

6,113,575 

1918 

4,181,916 

239 

20,000,000 

1919 

6,127,522 

325 

21,000,000 

1920 

5,230,000 

375 

5,500,000 

Sibirsky 

1916 

4,671,535 

346 

1917 

5,380,785 

440 

1918 

3,190,135 

375 

1919 

4,914,823 

372 

1920 

4,100,000 

380 

Arbagarsk  Mines 

1916 

2,015,627 

200 

1917 

2,557,490 

390 

1918 

1,574,165 

442 

7,500,000 

1919 

2,741,222 

386 

5,000,000 

1920 

2,580,000 

234 

3,000,000 

Kharanorsk   Mines 

1916 

2,713,792 

160 

1917 

3,197,935 

225 

1918 

1,121,776 

4,000,000 

1919 

1,774,037 

170 

3,000,000 

1920 

2,804,825 

223 

1,000,000 

Remark:     1  pood — 36.11  lbs. 


Delivered  to 
Transbaikal  Railway 

Delivered  to 
private  consumers 

Name  of  Mine 

1917 

1918 

1917                     1918 

Chernovsk 
Arbagarsk 
Kharanorsk 
Tarbagatai 

18,490,000 
1,925,000 
1,926,000 
7,500,000 

13,510,000 
2,298,000 
2,378,000 
3,200,000 

4,387,000 

94,000 

447,000 

1,400,000 

2,124,000 

87,000 

91,000 

400,000 

Total 

29.841,000 

21,386,000             6,328,000 

2,702,000 

The  year  1917  witnessed  the  most  intensive  production  of 
coal  in  Transbaikalia.  The  Transbaikal  railway  received  dur- 
ing that  year  from  Transbaikal  mines  30  million  poods  of 
coal.  Another  5  million  poods  needed  by  the  railway  were 
supplied  by  the  Cheremkhovsk  mines  (beyond  Irkutsk) . 

Beginning  with  1918  the  increased  deterioration  of  railway 
transport  and  the  general  disorganization  caused  the  production 

14 


of  coal  to  fall  continuously  and  with  it  the  supply  of  the  Trans  - 
baikal  railway. 

The  following  figures  show  the  production  for  the  last  fivo 
years  in  the  mines  now  working: 

1916—18,588,476  poods. 

1917_24,135,083       " 

1918—17,800,270       " 

1919—20,083,957       " 

1920—14,810,000       " 
To  these  figures  should  be  added  the  production  of  the 
Tarbagatai  mines,  now  closed,  as  follows: 

1916—14,000,000  poods. 

1917—12,000,000       " 

1918—  4,000,000       " 

1919—  2,000,000       " 

1920—  1,000,000       " 

II. 

MINERAL  COAL  DEPOSITS  IN  THE  AMUR  PROVINCE 

The  coal  mined  in  the  Amur  province,  just  as  in  Transbai- 
kalia, is  almost  exclusively  of  the  brown  soft  coal  variety.  There 
are  few  hard  coal  deposits  known,  and  these  are  not  very  big. 

A.     Brown  Coal  Deposits 

L     Bureinsk-Zavitinsk  District. 

This  brown  coal  district  is  the  most  important  in  the  entire 
Amur  Province.  The  coal-bearing  area  is  about  200  square 
versts.  The  average  thickness  of  the  coal  seams  is  10.5  feet. 
According  to  the  geologist  Maliavkin,  who  explored  this  district, 
the  reserve  of  working  coal  here  is  about  28,000  million  poods. 
The  coal  may  be  classed  among  the  pitch  coal.  Some  varieties, 
as  for  instance,  the  Varvaro-Valinsk,  even  give  a  faintly  clinking 
coke.  The  coal  is  solid  and  keeps  fairly  well.  Its  heating  value 
is  5,750  cal.  It  is  evident  that  this  coal  belongs  to  the  better 
varieties  of  its  class.  Among  the  advantages  of  this  district  are : 
the  horizontal  position  of  the  seams  and  their  outcrops  on  the 
surface,  which  make  it  possible  to  work  the  coal  in  galleries. 

There  is  now  working  in  this  district  the  Kivdinsk  deposit, 

15 


situated  within  4  versts  of  the  Bureya  station,  on  the  Amur  rail- 
way. The  present  production  of  these  mines  is  300,000  poods 
per  month.  Preparatory  work  is  now  being  done  on  the  Ark- 
haro-Boguchansk  deposit,  situated  next  to  the  railway. 

2.     Khabarovsk  Brown  Coal  Deposits. 

There  are  a  number  of  brown  coal  deposits  in  the  Kha- 
barovsk district;  the  most  important  is  the  deposit  of  brown  coal 
(lignite)  near  the  Amur  naval  "base".  The  estimated  extent 
of  these  seams,  according  to  the  geologist  Anert,  who  investi- 
gated this  deposit,  is  from  iy2  to  2  versts  in  length  and  about  1 
verst  in  width.  The  quality  of  the  coal  is  not  particularly  good, 
but  is  suitable  for  heating  houses  and  stationary  boilers. 

Extensive  brown  coal  deposits  are  also  known  to  exist  in 
many  other  paces  in  the  Amur  Province,  for  instance,  along 
the  river  Zeya,  from  the  village  M.  Sazanka  to  the  Arbashka 
fall;  also  in  other  places;  but  little  exploration  work  has  been 
done  for  all  these  deposits. 

B.     Hard  Coal  Deposits. 

The  only  hard  coal  deposits  exploited  in  the  Amur  coal 
region  are: 

1.  The  Birsk  Deposit. 

This  deposit  is  situated  near  the  station  of  Bira,  on  the 
Amur  railway.  The  coal  mined  belongs  to  the  dry  coal  varieties 
(non-cooking) ;  the  coal  is  of  fairly  good  quality  for  fuel  pur- 
poses, but  the  deposit  is  only  a  small  island  with  a  limited  reserve 
of  coal  (about  10,000,000  poods).  The  present  production  of 
the  mines  is  only  about  60,000  poods  per  month. 

2.  The  Pokrovsk  Deposit. 

This  deposit  is  situated  in  the  basin  of  the  river  Deppa, 
45  versts  above  its  mouth,  on  the  right  bank.  This  coal  can 
be  coked.  As  the  district  has  been  but  little  explored,  the 
reserves  of  coal  are  not  known. 

The  defect  of  this  deposit  is  its  remoteness  from  the 
railway. 

Other  hard  coal  deposits  are  known  to  exist  in  various  other 
places  in  the  Amur  province,  but  no  investigation  has  been 
made  and  no  details  are  known. 

16 


m. 

..  THE  COAL  INDUSTRY  IN  THE  MARITIME  PROVINCE 

Deposits  of  hard  and  brown  coal  are  found  principally  in 
the  South-Ussurisk  territory,  near  Vladivostok  and  Nikolsk- 
Ussurisk. 

With  the  exception  of  the  well  equipped  Government  Su- 
chansk  mines  and  of  two  private  concerns  mining  brown  coal, 
Skidelsky  and  Arzt,  all  the  other  enterprises  are  small,  having 
merely  household  proportions. 

The  following  table  gives  the  names,  the  situation  and  pro- 
duction of  the  mines  in  this  district: 


Name   of  Concern 
Private   Concerns : 


Where  Situated 


Production  in  1919 


A.    Hard  Coal 
1..  Podgorodnie— S.    V.    Lind- 

holm  &  Co. 
2..  Danilovsk — Heirs  of   D.   S. 

Borodin — Lessees:  Engineer 

Trojanovsky  &  Co. 
3..  Nadezhdinsk — Kotliarov, 

Vystrop  &  Berendeyev. 
4..  Lipovetzk — Lipovetzk     Coal 

Co. 

5..  Mongugaisk — U.  I.  Briner. 


B.    Brown  Coal. 

1..  Zybun— Heirs  of  L.  S.  Ski- 
delsky. 

2..  Uglovsk — Lessee:     Arzt. 

3..  Alexeyevsk — Lessees :    Kra- 
morov  &  Skorulsky. 

4..  Krayeugolno — Spassovsk — 
Heirs  of  Startsev. 

5..  Nikolaevsk  —  Nikolaevsk 
Coal  Co. 

6..  Novaya  Nadejda — Lessee 
Tkhorjevsky. 


25th  verst  on  Ussurisk  rail- 
way from  Vladivostok 1,872,631  poods 

4  versts  west  of  Nikolsk-Us- 
surisk  518,737      " 

8  versts  N.W.  of  Nikolsk- 
Ussurisk 1,071,341      " 

Near  Lipovetzetzk  siding,  40 
versts  west  of  Nikolsk  Us- 
surisk             895,268      " 

Along  river  Mongugai,  15 
versts  from  Amur  Bay 615,177      " 


Total   amount   of   hard   coal 
produced  in  1919 4,971,202  poods 

9  versts   from  station  Ugol- 

naya  along  Suchansk  branch    9,644,111  poods 
2  versts   from   st.   Ugolnaya      4,114,420      " 


4  versts   from   st.   Ugolnaya      1,109,595 
Station  Ugolnaya  1,270,000 


Near  Amur  Bay 851,571 

Near  the  mouth  of  the  river 
Suifun   372,686 


Total  amount  of  brown  coal 
produced  in  1919 17,163,383 


ill 


We  shall  now  take  up  the  above  mentioned  coal  mines 
order,  giving  the  following  important  facts  on  each. 

1.     Podgorodnie  mines  work  a  seam  of  hard  coal  6.3  feet 
thick,  with  dip  of  20-30  degrees.    The  main  defect  of  the  coal 


17 


is  its  high  contents  of  ash,  being  about  30-40%,  by  hand  pick- 
ing this  amount  of  ash  is  reduced  to  25%;  should  the  method 
of  washing  the  coal  be  employed,  in  which  direction  no  attempt 
has  been  made  by  the  company,  the  percentage  of  ash  would 
be  greatly  reduced,  and  the  coal  find  a  market  on  sea-going 
steamers.  The  price  for  large  coal  prior  to  the  Revolution  was 
15  kopeks  for  small  coal  and  8-11  kopeks  per  pood. 

The  reserves  of  coal  have  not  been  ascertained,  but  are  not 
less  than  100  million  poods. 

2.  Danilovsk  mine,  belonging  to  Borodin  Estate,  working 
a  seam  5.6  feet  thick,  with  a  dip  of  30  degrees;  above  it  is 
hard  sandstone.  Work  is  done  on  a  petty  scale.  The  big  flow 
of  water  and  absence  of  water  pumping  apparatus  prevents 
the  development  of  production. 

An  investigation  estimates  the  reserves  here  at  150  million 
poods. 

The  price  of  coal  in  peace  time  was  from  5  to  11  kopeks 
per  pood. 

3.  The  Nadezhdinsk  mine  is  working  a  seam  4.9  feet  thick 
with  an  angle  dip  of  15  degrees.  The  character  of  the  working 
is  the  same  as  on  the  Danilovsk  mine.  The  limited  means  at 
the  disposal  of  the  operators  prevent  them  from  developing 
production. 

4.  Lipovets  coal  mines  are  working  a  seam  7  feet  thick; 
the  coal  is  ashy,  and  there  is  only  one  small  apparatus  for 
washing  it. 

5.  Mongugaisk  mines — OBriner's,  consist  of  six  working 
seams,  4.2  to  7  feet  thick.  The  coal  gives  little  smoke,  does 
not  clinker,  and  burns  with  a  low  flame.  The  deposit  is  much 
littered  with  landslides,  which  complicates  prospecting.  The 
reserves  of  the*  coal  here  have  not  been  ascertained. 

Of  the  above  enumerated  brown  coal  mines — the  Zybunnye, 
Uglovsk,  Alexeyevsk  and  Krayeugolno-Spassovsk  mines  are  sit- 
uated in  the  deposit  of  one  basin,  extending  over  a  large  area 
of  39,200,000  square  feet,  the  average  thickness  of  the  seam  be- 
ing 8.4  feet.  This  deposit  contains  a  reserve  of  coal  of  not 
less  than  500  million  poods. 

The  pre-war  price  of  brown  coal  was  6  to  9  kopeks  per  pood. 

Further  extension  of  the  brown  coal  deposits  was  recently 
discovered  in  the  same  basin  along  the  Suchansk  raiway  and 

18 


a  new  enterprise  is  now  being  formed  13  versts  from  the  station 
of  Ugolnaya. 

The  brown  coal  deposit,  on  which  is  situated  the  Novaya 
Nadezhda  mine,  extends  a  considerable  distance  over  the  ter- 
ritory of  the  Tavrichanka  village  beyond  the  Amur  Bay,  opposite 
the  station  of  Okeanskaya,  and  contains  6  seams  of  excellent 
pitchy  brown  coal.  At  the  present  time  only  two  of  these  are 
being  worked,  7  to  4.9  feet  thick.  The  deposit  has  been  in- 
vestigated over  a  distance  of  more  than  4  square  versts  and 
contains  more  than  a  billion  poods  of  coal. 

Besides  the  above  enumerated  deposits,  on  which  work  is 
being  done,  there  is  a  number  of  brown  coal  deposits  extending 
over  many  versts  along  the  Ussurisk  bay.  These  deposits  are 
considerably  richer  in  coal  than  the  deposits  along  the  Amur 
bay,  as  described  above,  but  the  comparative  remoteness  of 
these  deposits  from  the  Ussurisk  railway  prevents  installation 
of  work  there. 

In  general,  it  may  be  stated  that  the  South-Ussurisk  ter- 
ritory contains  colossal  reserves  of  brown  coal — estimated  at 
several  billion  poods;  the  shallow  depth  of  the  seams  and  the 
low  cost  of  production  enable  the  brown  coal  to  compete  suc- 
cessfully with  the  Japanese  and  Suchan  coal,  wherever  it  is 
possible  to  use  brown  coal,  and  it  is  in  a  position  to  satisfy  the 
local  market  under  any  circumstances. 

The  principal  consumer  of  brown  coal  is  the  Ussurisk  rail- 
way and  the  industrial  enterprises  in  Vladivostok. 

The  Suchan  Government  mines  stand  first  among  the  hard 
coal  mines,  in  the  amount  of  its  reserves  of  coal,  in  its  quality, 
as  well  as  in  the  equipment  of  the  mines.  It  may  be  said  that 
the  Suchan  mines  were  and  still  are  the  chief  regulators  of 
prices  on  the  Vladivostok  coal  market,  moderating  the  appetites 
not  only  of  the  local  operators,  but  also  of  the  Japanese,  who 
supply  coal  to  the  steamers  of  our  Volunteer  Fleet  and  import 
considerable  quantities  of  coal  to  Vladivostok. 

In  the  last  few  years  systematic  and  extensive  exploration 
work  has  been  carried  on  on  the  Suchan  deposit  with  the  result 
that  the  apparent  reserves  are  estimated  at  800  million  poods, 
and  the  possible — at  2  billion  poods. 

The  Suchan  mines  have  three  working  seams,  each  aver- 
aging 4.62  feet;  the  seams  have  been  explored  to  a  depth  of 

19 


1,050  feet,  and  over  a  distance  of  5  versts;  the  average  dip  of 
the  seams  is  45  degrees.  The  quality  of  the  coal  in  one  seam 
varies  from  the  typical  clinking  coal,  with  volatile  ingredients 
up  to  20%,  to  semi-anthracite  coal;  the  change  is  accounted 
for  by  the  effect  of  effusive  strata  crossing  the  deposit. 

The  mines  are  worked  by  means  of  six  inclined  shafts  laid 
in  the  outcrops  of  the  seams. 

About  12  million  poods  of  coal,  i.e.,  the  amount  of  the 
annual  output,  have  been  cut  and  lie  in  the  fields. 

During  the  period  of  civil  war  when  work  on  the  mines 
was  reduced  and  subsequently  temporarily  discontinued,  the 
mine  timbering  deteriorated  and  a  considerable  outlay  is  now 
required  to  support  the  haulage  ways,  extending  for  1.5  versts, 
and  also  to  support  the  sections  of  coal  already  cut,  but  not 
yet  taken  away. 

The  coal  is  high  quality:  65-70%  coke. 

Production  of  coal  here  is  as  follows: 


Clinking  Coal 

Semi-Anthracite 

Total 

Year 

Output           Sold 

Output           Sold 

Output             Sold 

1916 
1917 
1918 
1919 

13,832,860 

15,742,410 

10,707,016 

8,413,080 

10,940,552 

12,082,462 

8,041,223 

3,232,698 

2,678,424 
2,215,000 
1,884,870 
1,026,392 

1,600,251 
971,691 

1,292,335 
315,646 

16,502,284 

17,957,410 

12,591,886 

7,439,472 

12,540,000 

13,054,153 

9,333,558 

3,548,344 

At  the'  present  time  production  has  again  increased  to 
1,300,000  poods  per  month,  and  has  thus  reached  the  pre-war 
figure,  but  owing  to  shortage  of  cars  on  the  narrow  gauge  rail- 
way and  to  the  general  disintegration  of  railway  transport,  the 
export  from  the  mine  is  only  about  600-800  thousand  poods  per 
month. 

Fifteen  million  poods  may  be  considered  the  maximum  total 
output,  which  may  not  be  exceeded  under  present  conditons  of 
transport. 

To  increase  export,  and  consequently  the  corresponding 
production  of  coal,  it  is  necessary  to  construct  a  wide-gauge 
railway  line,  which,  with  detours  Would  be  not  less  than  45 
versts  in  length.  The  survey  work  for  this  construction  has 
already  been  completed,  but  the  general  financial  situation  pre- 
vents the  carrying  out  of  the  construction. 

In  the  event  of  a  wide  gauge  line  being  laid  to  the  Suchan 


20 


mines,  these  with  their  present  facilites  would  in  the  shortest 
period  be  able  to  double  their  output,  raising  it  to  25  million 
poods  a  year,  and  completely  covering  the  demand  for  specially 
high  quality  coal  on  the  Vladivostok  market  (for  seagoing 
steamers) . 

In  additon  to  producing  coal,  the  Suchan  mines  also  pro- 
duce coke,  being  the  only  enterprise  in  the  Far  Eastern  Republic 
to  engage  in  the  production  of  coke. 

The  following  figures  show  the  production  of  coke  for  1916- 
1919: 

1916—265,537  poods. 

1917—340,078       " 

1918—184,442       " 

1919—  79,294       " 

The  following  table  gives  the  export  figure  of  coal  mined 
in  the  Ussurisk  territory  on  private  and  government  coal  mines 
(in  poods) : 


Year 


Brown  Coal        Hard  Coal 


Total 


Coke 


Total 


1916 

12,241,444 

17,126,195 

29,367,639 

265,537 

29,633,176 

1917 

12,283,955 

18,135,783 

30,419,738 

340,078 

30,759,176 

1918 

14,417,843 

13,194,000 

27,611,843 

184,442 

27,796,285 

1919 

15,252,572 

8,171,910 

23,424,432 

79,294 

23,503,776 

The  above  amounts  did  not  cover  the  entire  needs  for  coal 
in  the  Ussurisk  territory,  so  that  foreign  coal,  chiefly  from 
Japan,  always  was  and  still  is  being  imported.  The  following 
are  the  import  figures: 


Year 


From  Japan 


From  England 


Total  foreign 
From  America     importation 


1916 

2,928,467 

2,928,467 

1917 

1,466,066 

104,132 

6,355 

1,570,553 

1918 

486,550 

486,550 

1919 

2,428,657 

2,428,657 

In  1919  also  the  Interallied  Railway  Commission  imported 
from  Japan  2,400,000  poods  of  coal  for  the  Ussurisk  railway. 

The  import  of  coal  from  Japan  was  highest  in  1915,  when 
it  reached  5,089,727  poods.  The  subsequent  drop  in  this  im- 
port is  due,  on  the  one  hand,  to  the  fall  of  the  ruble,  on  the 
other — to  the  shortage  of  freighters  on  account  of  the  world 
war.     Again  the  sharp  rise  in  the  import  figures  for  1919  is 


21 


accounted  for  by  the  suspension  of  work  on  the  Suchan  mines 
and  the  impossibility  of  replacing  Suchan  coal  with  other  local 
varieties  where  particularly  high  quality  coal  is  required  (as 
e.g.,  for  steamers). 

Thus  the  figures  for  the  last  few  years  show  that  the 
Ussurisk  province  is  able  to  take  care  of  its  own  needs  for  coal, 
without  foreign  importaton,  if  steps  be  taken  for  providing  the 
necessary  workmen,  as  well  as  the  necessary  materials  for 
equipment,  and  food  supplies. 

Under  such  conditions  production  can  within  the  next  few 
months  be  doubled. 

IV. 
COAL  MINING  INDUSTRY  ON  RUSSIAN  SAGHALIN 

Vast  deposits  of  hard  and  brown  coal  are  known  to  exist 
on  the  entire  western  coast  of  the  island,  from  the  most  north- 
ern extremity  up  to  the  Japanese  frontier,  covering  a  distance 
of  450  versts. 

Coal  deposits  were  also  discovered  by  many  explorers  in  the 
central  part  of  the  island,  along  the  rivers  Tymi  and  Poronai, 
and  also  on  the  eastern  coast. 

Outcrops  of  brown  coal  are  found  only  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  island  and  partly  in  the  center;  among  them  may  be 
mentioned : 

1.  In  northern  Saghalin,  on  the  river  Pilvo. 

2.  Between  the  Giliatsk  nomad  camps  at  Viskovo  and 
Tamlovo. 

3.  To  the  south  of  Tomlovo. 

4.  South  of  Trambaus  village. 

5.  In  the  southern  part  of  the  Uandi  bay. 

6.  Near  the  river  Pyor-Urly. 

7.  To  the  north  of  river  Hoi  to  the  river  Rukina,  over  a 
distance  of  6  versts. 

In  the  central  part  of  the  island: 

8.  Along  the  river  Tymi,  between  the  villages  Voskresen- 
ski  and  Uskovo. 

9.  On  the  left  bank  of  the  river  Poronoia,  opposite  Ka- 
zarsk  village. 

Regular  hard  coal  is  known: 

22 


1.  In  the  northermost  extremity  between  capes  Maria  and 
Elizabeth,  in  the  Kuegda  bay. 

2.  Along  the  middle  course  of  river  Hoi. 

3.  In  the  river  bank  deposits  between  Hoi  and  Malaya 
Tanga. 

4.  In  the  left  source  of  the  river  Tanga. 

5.  On  the  sea  coast  south  of  the  mouth  of  river  Tanga, 
at  the  northern  end  of  Cape  Tanga. 

6.  From  Mgach  village  to  Maly  Surtunai — a  large  suite, 
being  the  western  wing  of  the  Vladimir-Mgachinsk  anticlinal. 

7.  Along  the  river  Maly  Surtunai. 

8.  Along  the  river  Niami. 

9.  The  same  suite  is  found  open  in  the  source  of  the  river 
Arkovo,  near  Kamyshevsk  pass. 

10.  Near  Alexandrov  Post  and  in  the  bared  coastline  of 
Cape  Jomkier. 

11.  Near  the  lighthouse  at  Alexandrov  Post. 

12.  From  Lapshin  Falls  to  Cape  Hoindje,  on  the  bared 
coastline  and  at  Voyevoda,  Ugolny,  Duisky  and  Kirpichny  Falls 
(Duisk  suite). 

13.  South  of  Cape  Rogaty,  along  the  rivers  Pereselen- 
cheskaia,  Chornaya  and  Doktorskaia. 

14.  South  of  Cape  Hoindje,  near  Ogorodny  Falls. 

15.  Between  Capes  Spasenny  and  Kamenny. 

16.  Along  the  river  Nai-Nai. 

17.  In  the  bared  coastline  at  Pilevo. 

At  the  foothills'  of  Western  Saghalin  Mountain  Range: 

18.  At  the  source  of  Malaya  Alexandrovka. 

19.  At  the  fall  of  Bannaya  (Tymovka)  near  Mikhailovsky 
village. 

20.  At  the  right  branching  of  the  river  B.  Alexandrovska 
above  Bannaya  up  to  village  Krasny  Yar  and  further  south. 

21.  Along  Vladimirsk  spring,  near  village  Vladimirovka. 

22.  In  the  upper  course  of  river  Agnevo. 

23.  Along  river  Pilevo,  2  and  4  versts  from  its  mouth. 

24.  In  the  right  tributaries  of  Paronaia. 

25.  On  the  right  bank  of  river  Tymi,  near  its  fall  into 
river  Nys. 

26.  On  the  right  of  river  Tymi,  near  the  fall  of  river  Vel- 
Vel  and  2  versts  below. 

23 


27.  In  the  middle  course  of  river  Nabil. 

28.  In  three  outcroppings  on  the  river  Daga. 

29.  Along  river  Evai. 

30.  Along  river  Val. 

31.  At  the  37th  verst  from  the  Japanese  frontier,  along  the 
river  Hoi. 

The  conditons  of  the  coal  deposits  here  vary  greatly:  in 
the  coal  bearing  parts  of  the  Western  and  Eastern  ranges  and 
in  their  foothills  the  plicate  formation  predominates,  with  slight 
precipitation.  In  the  coast  range,  south  of  Cape  Jonkier  up 
to  the  Japanese  frontier,  the  seams  are  broken  up  by  effiusive 
layers  into  separate  sections;  numerous  precipitations  in  vari- 
ous directions  and  of  various  sides  complicate  the  picture  of 
the  coal-fields. 

Amount  of  Coal.  On  the  basis  of  previous  works,  an  esti- 
mate was  made  in  1905  of  the  coal  deposits  in  the  coast  line 
between  Mgach  and  Due,  over  a  distance  of  30  versts,  and  to  a 
depth  of  700  feet;  a  calculation  gave  the  figure  of  2  billion 
poods  of  hard  coal.  In  the  following  10  years  information  about 
the  coal  deposits  in  the  coast  line  was  considerably  increased: 
estimates  made  by  Engineer  Tulchinsky  in  1906  place  the 
amount  of  coal  in  Alexandrovsk  deposit  at  234  millions,  in  Mga- 
chinsk  at  530  millions  and  in  Vladimirsk  at  1,500  millions.  It 
was  further  ascertained  that  the  Alexandrovsk  suits  of  coal, 
with  the  five  definitely  known  working  seams  of  an  average 
thickness  of  18.2  feet,  bending  in  synclinal  directon,  appear 
again  in  the  foothills  of  the  Main  Western  Mountain  range, 
in  the  right  tributaries  of  the  rivers  Malaya  and  Bolshaya  Alex- 
androvka  and  beyond — up  to  the  valley  of  the  river  Arkovo,  that 
is,  over  a  distance  of  more  than  15  versts.  The  reserves  of 
mineral  fuel  in  this  large  area  must  exceed  at  least  ten  times 
the  reserves  of  the  Alexandrovsk  mine,  which  are  estimated  at 
about  200  million  poods.  On  the  basis  of  old  works  conducted 
on  the  Voyevoda,  Ugolny  and  Duisk  gorges,  and  on  the  basis  of 
the  natural  outcroppings  in  the  coast  line  in  6  working  seams 
near  Cape  Hoindji,  of  an  average  thickness  of  14  feet,  estimates 
were  made  of  the  coal  reseves  in  the  Duisk  suite  over  a  distance 
of  4  square  versts,  700  feet  deep,  and  resulted  in  a  figure  of 
about  2  billion  poods  of  coal. 

The  Vladimirsk-Mgachinsk  siute  from  river  Arkovo  to  Cape 

24 


Tanga,  a  distance  of  about  20  versts  ,in  the  shape  of  a  coast 
anticlinal,  contains  about  8  working  seams,  with  an  average 
thickness  of  33.25  feet;  the  total  reserve  of  fuel  here  reaches 
8  billion  poods.  Exploration  work  near  Cape  Rogaty  along 
the  rivers  Pereselencheskaia,  Chornaia  and  Doktorskaia  brought 
to  light  a  new  and  extremely  rich  deposit  of  no  less  than  3 
working  seams.  Therefore,  the  amount  of  coal  in  Sakhalin  may 
be  considered  enormous. 

Quality  of  the  Coal.  The  following  two  groups  are  predomi- 
nant among  the  Sakhalin  coal:  dry  long-flaming  coal  (first 
Gruner  group)  and  oily,  clinking  coal  (second  Gruner  group). 
To  the  first  group  belong  the  Mgachinsk,  Vladimirovsk  and 
Tyma  coal,  to  the  second — duisk,  Pilevsk  and  Nai-Nai.  The 
Alexandrovsk  coal  and  that  from  Cape  Rogaty  may  be  classed 
an  intermediary  of  the  two.  Among  the  valuable  qualities  of 
the  Sakhalin  coal  are:  almost  entire  absence  of  sulphur,  almost 
no  admixture  of  slate,  small  percentage  of  ash,  while  the  coal 
of  the  second  group  has  the  additonal  advantage  of  producing 
over  70%  of  high  grade  coke,  has  a  high  heating  value  (over 
800  calories)  and  gives  concentrated  heat. 

Review  of  Existing  Enterprises.  In  spite  of  the  wide  extent 
and  the  high  quality  of  its  coal,  the  Sakhalin  industry  is  still 
in  its  infancy. 

The  principal  obstacles  for  the  development  of  the  Sakhalin 
coal  mining  industry  are:  the  absence  of  a  protective  port  and 
shortage  of  boats  for  the  transport  of  the  coal. 

The  following  companies  were  working  in  Sakhalin  in  1919: 
1)  I.  Stakheev  &  Co.,  2)  Kunst  &  Albers,  3)  Lilge  &  Co.,  4) 
Briner  &  Co.,  and  5)  Alexandrovsk  Labor  Artel  (cooperative). 
These  enterprises  all  gathered  near  Alexandrovsk  port,  with  the 
exception  of  the  Briner  Company,  which  was  working  near  the 
Japanese  frontier,  on  the  Pelivsk  deposit,  and  Kunst  &  Albers, 
which  worked  the  Mgachinsk  deposit,  20  versts  to  the  north  of 
Alexandrovsk  Post. 

The  export  of  Sakhalin  coal  to  Vladivostok  never  exceeded 
two  and  a  half  million  poods  per  annum. 

In  the  last  few  years  the  export  was  as  follows: 

25 


1916—184,000  poods. 
1917—327,428 
1918—  65,860       " 
1919—1,130,000    " 

The  increase  of  production  in  1919  is  accounted  for  by  the 
suspension  of  work  on  the  Suchan  mines  and  the  necessity  of 
substituting  it  by  coal  of  corresponding  high  quality;  shortage 
of  boats  for  the  export  of  the  coal  prevented  the  export  figure 
from  being  higher. 

The  absence  of  a  port  results  not  only  in  the  small  amount 
of  coal  exported,  but  also  in  the  high  cost  of  freight,  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  it  is  very  rare  for  a  boat  to  be  loaded  up  at 
once,  as  sometimes  it  must  lie  for  weeks  in  the  open  sea  or 
in  the  protection  of  De  Kastri  bay  (120  versts  from  Alexandrovsk 
Post  inland)  waiting  for  favorable  weather. 

Difficulty  of  loading  increases  freight  charges  and  is  one 
of  the  principal  items  of  expense  on  coal.  The  following  table 
shows  the  pre-war  cost  per  ton  of  coal  from  Duisk  mines: 

Labor  to  prepare  and  produce  one  ton  of  coal....l       ruble —  18.3% 

Rolling  it  to  warehouse  on  coast 20kop.  —    3.7% 

Loading  on  steamer 60    "      —  11    % 

Freight  to  Vladivostok 2     rubles —  36    % 

Government  tax   45    "      —    8.3% 

Unloading  from  boat  in  Vladivostok 50   "      —    9.2% 

Mine  management   expenses 15    "      —    2.8% 

Timber   25    "      —    4.6% 

Lifting  and  Lubricating 10    "      —     1.8% 

Pumping    10   "      —    1.8% 

Office  expenses  10   "      —    1.8% 

Total    5  rs.  45  kop.— 100% 

Thus,  the  cost  of  freight  to  Vladivostok  is  the  most  ex- 
pensive item,  being  twice  as  high  as  the  cost  of  production  from 
the  ground,  and,  together  with  the  cost  of  loading  and  unloading 
ing,  represents  57%  of  all  overhead  expense. 

It  should  be  added  that  the  topographical  conditions  of  the 
coast  strata  of  the  western  coast  line  are  such  that  it  is  pos- 
sible, without  any  expenditure  for  preliminary  work,  to  com- 
mence mining  coal  direct  from  outcrops  by  galleries,  making 
use  of  the  deep  sharp  inclines  and  gorges  which  cut  up  the 
coal  seams  in  numerous  places;  at  Cape  Rogaty,  for  instance, 
over  a  distance  of  about  a  verst,  a  deep  crevice  cuts  across 
4  working  seams,  each  7  feet  deep,  laying  driftways  in  the 

26 


seams  at  the  bottom  of  the  gorge  gives  at  once  eight  working 
fields  about  700  feet  high  each.  In  conclusion,  it  is  necessary 
to  point  out  that  the  positon  of  Sakhalin  and  its  tremendous 
coal  resources  promises  an  important  future  to  Russian  Sak- 
halin. The  building  of  a  port  is  the  primary  cornerstone  of 
this  future. 


27 


APPENDIX  I. 

SOFT  COAL  DEPOSITS  OF  THE  ZABAIKAL  PROVINCE 

1.  The  Tarbagataysky  soft  coal  deposits  lie  in  the  valley  of 
the  river  Khilka,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Tigna,  which  is  its 
right  tribtuary,  near  the  37th  siding  of  the  Transbaikal  Rail- 
road. These  deposits  have  been  mined  for  the  last  15  years; 
now  mining  has  been  stopped;  there  remained  a  supply  of  soft 
coal  of  about  40,000,000  poods,  but  a  vast  area  of  this  deposit 
has  not  yet  been  investigated  much,  though  the  deposits  are 
estimated  at  about  one  billion  poods. 

2.  The  Khalertinsky  soft  coal  deposits  lie  along  the  river 
Talbaga,  the  left  tributary  of  the  Khilka  River,  flowing  into  it 
about  7  versts  above  the  mouth  of  the  stream  Tigna.  The  above 
deposit  is  situated  on  the  right  slope  of  the  valley  of  the  stream, 
10-12  versts  above  its  mouth  and  at  about  the  same  distance 
from  the  Talbaga  Station  of  the  Transbaikal  Railroad.  Thus 
far  about  55,000,000  poods  of  soft  coal  deposits  have  been 
estimated.    Mining  continues  at  present. 

3.  Along  the  stream  Shibirga,  1%  versts  from  its  entrance 
into  the  river  Khilok,  near  the  Katayevsky  village. 

4.  On  the  right  slope  of  the  river  Balyaga,  5  versts  from 
its  mouth. 

5.  Along  both  slopes  of  the  valley  of  the  river  Balyaga,  718 
versts  above  the  Petrovsky  Works. 

6.  Near  the  village  Kulya  and  above  the  village  Tarba- 
gatay. 

7.  Near  Gutay-Nor,  not  far  from  the  Bichursky  village, 
on  the  left  side  of  the  valley  of  the  river  Khilka. 

8.  Along  the  stream  Sukhara,  the  left  tributary  of  the 
river  Tugnuy. 

28 


9.  At  the  source  of  the  stream  Saranta,  flowing,  from  the 
left,  into  the  Khudun  River  (left  tributary  of  the  Uda  River), 
opposite  the  Chikansky  Datson  Mountains,  is  found  laminiform 
coal  or  laminiform  combustible  schist. 

10.  At  a  distance  of  20  versts  from  the  city  of  Verkhneu- 
dinsk,  along  the  Chita  road,  along  the  Dabatuy  stream,  flowing 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Ivanovka. 

11.  Along  the  stream  Ivanovka,  the  left  inlet  of  the 
Chikoy  River,  and  also  along  the  bank  of  the  latter,  not  far 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Ivanovka. 

Near  the  Kochen  village  (Archangel  village). 

13.  One  verst  above  the  village  Krasny  Yar,  along  both 
sides  of  the  Chikoy  River. 

14.  In  the  cliffs  of  the  left  bank  of  the  Chikoy  River,  be- 
tween the  streams  Marfina  and  Afonkina,  flowing  into  the 
Chikoy  River  above  the  village  Shimberlik,  and  also  along  the 
valley  of  the  Marfina  stream. 

15.  Near  the  village  Beregovaya,  in  the  valley  of  the 
Chikoy  River. 

16.  Near  the  station  Zhibkhegen,  opposite  the  Badinsky 
Steppe,  between  the  railroad  stations  Bada  and  Khilok. 

The  Valley  of  the  Ingoda  River. 

17.  Near  the  village  Staro-Kliuchevsky,  at  the  sources  of 
the  stream  Ustinikha,  flowing,  from  the  right,  into  the  Smar- 
nyaga  River,  the  right  tributary  of  the  Ingoda  River. 

18.  Along  the  stream  Gareka,  near  the  village  Gareka. 

19.  Along  the  stream  Ulyatuy,  the  left  tributary  of  the 
Ingoda  River,  fragments  of  coal  were  found  in  small  hillocks. 

20.  Outcrops  on  the  left  bank  of  the  River  Ingoda,  below 
the  village  Novaya  Kuka,  in  the  Krutoy  Yar. 

21.  Near  the  village  Domninsky. 

22.  Near  the  Station  Chernovsky,  of  the  Transbaikal 
Railroad,  18  versts  southwest  of  Chita  and  3  versts  north  of 

29 


the  station.  Coal  mining  is  going  on  at  present.  The  coal 
deposits  of  the  entire  coal  mining  area  are  estimated  at  1,200,- 
000,000  poods. 

23.  Near  the  village  Kharamangut,  on  the  right  side  of  the 
valley  of  the  Ingoda  River,  3-4  versts  from  the  siding  Darasun 
of  the  Transbaikal  Railroad. 

24.  Near  the  village  Tyrgetuyevsky,  lying  at  a  lake,  from 
which  flows  the  stream  Tyrgetuyevka,  which  enters,  from  the 
left,  the  Tura  River,  the  right  tributary  of  the  Ingoda  River. 

25.  Near  the  village  Balzino,  at  the  source  of  the  Tura 
River,  in  several  places,  in  small  hills,  occur  pieces  of  coal. 

26.  In  the  valley  of  the  Alenguyar  River,  the  right  tribu- 
utary  of  the  Ingoda  River  at  the  mouth  of  the  Nygaylgun 
stream,  in  small  hills  occurs  brown  coal. 

27.  Near  the  village  Undurginsky,  lying  between  the  sta- 
tions of  Karymsky  and  Bayandarginsky,  5  versts  from  the  In- 
goda River,  along  the  left  bank  of  the  Dzhipkosen  stream,  are 
found  three  outcrops  of  coal  seams. 

Valley  of  the  Onon  River. 

28.  In  the  valley  of  the  Onon-Borza  River,  2  versts  from 
the  79th  siding  of  the  Transbaikal  Railroad,  and  18  versts  west 
of  the  Borza  Station,  in  the  locality  of  Kharanor,  there  are 
huge  deposits  of  coal  which  are  now  being  mined,  estimated  at 
about  1,750,000,000  poods. 

29.  On  the  right  shore  of  the  Urey  River,  the  left  tribu- 
tary of  the  Aksha  River,  which  flows,  from  the  left,  into  the 
Onon  River,  small  deposits  of  coal  are  found  at  a  distance  of 
50  versts  from  the  city  of  Aksha. 

30.  Along  the  Turga  River,  flowing,  from  the  right,  into 
the  Onon  River,  near  the  Turginsky  Village. 

31.  In  the  Shilka  Basin,  is  found  the  Petrov  coal  deposit, 
lying  near  Lake  Kholbon  which  is  5  versts  east  of  the  Mir- 
sanovsky  village,  and  altogether  about  630  feet  from  the  Shilka 
River.    This  source  has  been  mined,  but  is  abandoned  at  present. 

32.  The  Arbagarsky  coal  deposit  lies  7  versts  north  of  the 
Kholbon  Lake  and  18  versts  southwest  of  the  city  of  Nerchinsk. 
Mining  is  going  on  at  present.  The  coal  reserve  is  estimated  at 
200,000,000  poods. 

30 


33.  Near  the  Mironov  Village,  along  the  Kurenga  stream, 
the  right  tributary  of  the  Shilka  River. 

34.  Along  the  Bukachach  River,  the  right  small  tributary 
of  the  River  Agita,  which  is  the  left  tributary  of  the  Kuenga 
River,  are  found  coal  seams  of  about  14  feet  in  thickness.  The 
reserve  is  estimated  at  about  200,000,000  poods.  This  deposit 
has  not  been  investigated  much. 

35.  In  the  valley  of  the  stream  Kurlycha,  the  left  tributary 
of  the  Shilka  River,  there  are  coal  outcrops  near  the  mouth 
of  the  stream,  as  well  as  at  about  5  versts  from  the  mouth. 

36.  Along  the  Zolotoy  Log,  on  the  left  side  of  the  Shilka 
River,  45  kilometers  from  the  city  of  Nerchinsk. 

Near  the  village  Kukuysk,  along  the  right  bank  of  the 
Shilka  River. 

Along  the  River  Argunya. 

37.  Above  and  below  the  village  Gorbunova,  near  the  Chal- 
buchinsky  sentry,  at  a  distance  of  12-15  versts  to  the  south- 
east of  the  Nerchinsk  Works. 

38.  Between  the  Duroyevsky  and  Kaylastuyevsky  sentries, 
along  the  Arguny  River,  is  found  a  coal  area  extending  19  versts 
to  the  south  of  the  Khilkovsky  lot. 

The  Valley  of  the  Vitim  River. 

39.  Along  the  left  bank  of  the  Vitim  River,  5-6  versts  above 
its  right  tributary,  the  Nurokit  stream — among  various  con- 
glomerates and  layers  of  slate-clay,  there  is  a  seam  of  lignite. 

40.  A  seam  of  brown  coal,  of  about  28  inches  in  thickness, 
is  found  6-7  versts  below  the  mouth  of  the  Dzhilinda  River,  the 
left  tributary  of  the  Vitim  River,  among  layers  of  slate. 

41.  Along  the  stream  Zaza,  the  right  tributary  of  the 
Vitim  River,  not  far  from  the  mouth  of  the  Kisekh  River,  in 
the  layers  of  slate  marl,  are  found  thin  seams  of  lamiform 
brown  coal. 


31 


APPENDIX  II. 
SUMMARIES  OF  MINERAL  COAL 


TRANSBAIKALIA: 


Resources  in  the  deposits  being  worked: 

1.  Tarbagatai  deposit   3,000,000,000  poods 

2.  Khaliartinsk  deposit  62,000,000      " 

3.  Chernovsk  deposit  1,500,000,000      " 

4.  Arbagarsk  deposit  200,000,000      " 

5.  Kharanorsk   deposit    1,000,000,000      " 


Total    5,762,000,000  poods 


AMUR  PROVINCE: 


Bureisk-Zavatinsk  region  28,000,000,000  poods 

Birsk  deposit 10,000,000      " 

Khabarovsk  deposit  12,000,000      " 


Total    28,022,000,000  poods 

MARITIME  PROVINCE: 

1.  Podgorodny   deposit    100,000,000  poods 

2.  Danilovsk  deposit  150,000,000 

3.  Nadejdinsk  and  Lipovetz  deposit 200,000,000 

4.  Uglovsk  500,000,000 

5.  Tavrichesk    1,000,000,000 

6.  Suchan  2,000,000,000 


Total   3,950,000,000  poods 

PRODUCTION  OF  COAL  Before  the  war    At  present 

In  Transbaikalia   32,000,000        16,000,000 

In   Amur No  Production     4,000,000 

In   Maritime  province 33,000,000        26,000,000 


65,000,000       46,000,000 


DEMAND  FOR  COAL  For  railways  Other  consumers 

In  Transbaikalia  35,000,000         6,000,000 

In  Amur  province  20,000,000  8,000,000 

In  Maritime  province  15,000,000        18,000,000 


Total  demand  over  100,000,000  poods 


32 


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